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Hello, fellow writers! Got any question that you can't find answer from Google or Wikipedia, but you don't think it needs a separate thread for? You came to the right place!

Don't be shy, and just ask away. The nice folks here, writers and non-writers, experts and non-experts, will do their best to help you.

The folder below contains links for special interest threads, mostly at OTC, but also from Yack Fest and Troper Coven.

    Special Interest Threads 

Also take a look at Useful Notes on various topics. They can be pretty useful.

Now, bring on the questions, baby!

edited 11th Apr '18 6:31:51 PM by dRoy

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#7476: May 22nd 2013 at 10:19:20 AM

How does one measure the current worth of a specific sum of money that was assessed several decades ago, or that of a specific monetary value of something like gold? I'm trying to pin down just how much the official estimate of "known Nazi Gold" — i.e. the gold that was expropriated by Nazi Germany from foreign governments during WWII (amounts to $550 mil) — would be worth today.

edited 22nd May '13 10:19:45 AM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
SabresEdge Show an affirming flame from a defense-in-depth Since: Oct, 2010
Show an affirming flame
#7477: May 22nd 2013 at 10:33:46 AM

Convert the price to US dollars back then (possibly using a historic gold cost lookup chart), and then run it through an inflation calculator? It'll be pretty imprecise, but it's better than nothing.

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.
demarquis Who Am I? from Hell, USA Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Buried in snow, waiting for spring
Who Am I?
#7479: May 22nd 2013 at 11:35:57 AM

Divide the total worth of the gold at that time by the price per ounce of gold (at that time) to obtain the total number of ounces involved (or pounds, whatever). Multiply by the current price of gold per ounce (etc.) to obtain the current value.

Historical prices of gold are here.

In 1945 that was $34.7 per ounce. Today it's $1,356.

edited 22nd May '13 11:40:40 AM by demarquis

"We learn from history that we do not learn from history."
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#7480: May 22nd 2013 at 11:41:46 AM

Much thanks!

... I don't suppose any of you know if there are any rough minimum estimates of just how much private gold and other valuables the Nazis had stolen from individuals and private groups, do you? Wikipedia says that nobody knows with any degree of accuracy about the total number, but I'd surprised if no one had at least tried to define some rough range for guesstimation purposes, just like with the disputes on the total number of WWII casualties.

In 1945 that was $34.7 per ounce. Today it's $1,356.
... Woah, that's a big jump for just below seven decades. Is that "normal"?

edited 22nd May '13 11:43:08 AM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
demarquis Who Am I? from Hell, USA Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Buried in snow, waiting for spring
Who Am I?
#7481: May 22nd 2013 at 11:45:56 AM

Define "normal". It's the market.

"We learn from history that we do not learn from history."
Madrugada Zzzzzzzzzz Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: In season
Zzzzzzzzzz
#7482: May 22nd 2013 at 11:48:15 AM

Gold prices were set by law up until, oh, I want to say, sometime in the late 1970s. Then the legal price restrictions were removed and the market was what determined the price.

So the answer to your question "is that normal?" is "Yes and no". Yes, it's normal for a valuable commodity that is kept under outside price controls to jump enormously in price when those controls are removed, but no, even under those circumstances, gold is far more volatile than most commodities.

...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.
MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#7483: May 22nd 2013 at 5:38:57 PM

Gotcha.

... I don't know if this is the best place to discuss this, but here's a new question: How can one create a Lighter and Softer version of Those Wacky Nazis and Dirty Communists that does away with the definitely Morally-Black atrocities and madness, and dials the whole thing down to an acceptable level of Moral Grayness? After all, a Mirror Universe where the Good guys are Evil and the Evil guys are Good, like the DC Multiverse's Crime Society of America universes, must logically have a non-abominable version of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

And then there, of course, the possibility of designing non-villainous/antagonist characters with explicit Nazi/Communist themes, whether its for the Badass factor (would you really want to get into a fight with a battle-hardened Waffen-SS / Soviet Spetsnaz commando?) or, as with most female characters I've seen in this role, for Fanservice / Fetish Fuel (AKA "Nazi chic" / Nazisploitation).

edited 22nd May '13 5:39:49 PM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
Hermiethefrog Since: Jan, 2001
#7484: May 22nd 2013 at 6:30:21 PM

Stupid question that I probably should have learned in grade school but.

Showing possession with words that end in an S sound. For instance, the princess. If there is a single princess that owns something, how would you show possession?

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#7485: May 22nd 2013 at 6:35:41 PM

Both princess's and princess' are grammatically correct, according to The Chicago Manual of Style (in fact, it recommends the former); things may change if it's a classical/Biblical proper name, however. See here and here for more info.

edited 22nd May '13 6:36:28 PM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.
DeMarquis Who Am I? from Hell, USA Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Buried in snow, waiting for spring
Who Am I?
#7487: May 22nd 2013 at 7:03:38 PM

Huh. Here I thought princess' was the only correct form.

edited 22nd May '13 7:04:19 PM by DeMarquis

"We learn from history that we do not learn from history."
peasant Since: Mar, 2011
#7488: May 22nd 2013 at 7:09:28 PM

[up] That said, I think it is the more prevalent form.

edited 22nd May '13 7:10:55 PM by peasant

ramuf Electric Heart from the Shining Throne Since: Jan, 2013
Electric Heart
#7489: May 23rd 2013 at 1:45:27 PM

I have this rather superficial, extraneous question. Since I'm scientifically illiterate, I don't understand Raleigh scattering or whatever it's called. Would the color of a star (e.g. blue) affect the color of the sky on a planet? If not, what does?

Also, and this is rather more pertinent, would a ten percent increase in gravity have severe consequences to an individual's physical performance?

SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#7490: May 23rd 2013 at 1:49:54 PM

Raleigh scattering would become green if the star was very red-hued.

A 10% increase of gravity would decrease someone's physical prowess a bit, I assume.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
DeMarquis Who Am I? from Hell, USA Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Buried in snow, waiting for spring
Who Am I?
#7491: May 23rd 2013 at 1:49:56 PM

I think you will get much more competent answers if you ask this in the "Understanding how stuff works sci-fi-ish-ly" thread in World Building, or even the "Space" thread in On Topic Conversations.

"We learn from history that we do not learn from history."
ramuf Electric Heart from the Shining Throne Since: Jan, 2013
Electric Heart
#7492: May 23rd 2013 at 2:04:39 PM

I shall head there. I'm still naive in the forum business...

Also, thanks Septimus.

MorwenEdhelwen Aussie Tolkien freak from Sydney, Australia Since: Jul, 2012
Aussie Tolkien freak
#7493: May 25th 2013 at 3:40:45 PM

Does anyone know for sue if there really were Black Vikings? I've read references to this.

The road goes ever on. -Tolkien
MorwenEdhelwen Aussie Tolkien freak from Sydney, Australia Since: Jul, 2012
Aussie Tolkien freak
#7494: May 25th 2013 at 3:41:41 PM

[DELETED]

edited 26th May '13 6:11:38 AM by MorwenEdhelwen

The road goes ever on. -Tolkien
SabresEdge Show an affirming flame from a defense-in-depth Since: Oct, 2010
Show an affirming flame
#7495: May 25th 2013 at 7:22:46 PM

It's not impossible. Vikings ranged as far as the Byzantine empire, where they became the Varangian Guard, and the Byzantines were in contact with the great Arab empires. It's not inconceivable that a black man might make his way up through Egypt and the MENA region, to the Byzantine empire and thence to the Vikings.

Of course, that's just for the Varangian Guard and the like. Up in the Viking home countries, much less likely.

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.
TeraChimera Since: Oct, 2010
#7496: May 25th 2013 at 8:04:07 PM

Biologically speaking, what would happen to a cold-blooded creature, such as a lizard, if its body temperature remained too low for too long?

Nightmare24 Since: Dec, 2010
#7497: May 25th 2013 at 8:13:13 PM

It's biological functions will slow (digestion, heart rate, breathing), and it will become lethargic due to lack of energy. Essentially, every part of it will slow, and this will continue as long as the temperature is low. Over time, it's cells will start to lack the full nutrients and other chemicals it'll need, and it won't be able to feed as well because it can't move as quickly as it needs to.

Now, this depends on the species. Some species will go into torpor at this point, effectively hibernation until temperatures improve. Most other species, their metabolic processes will drop, they won't be able to get the food they need, and they will die if temperatures don't improve soon.

http://www.fictionpress.com/s/3007268/4/The_Legion_of_Justice Superheroes! What could go wrong?
MCE Grin and tonic from Elsewhere Since: Jan, 2001
Grin and tonic
#7498: May 26th 2013 at 2:50:01 AM

Morwen Edhelwen: You can edit your own posts, no need to add another post

My latest Trope page: Shapeshifting Failure
m8e from Sweden Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Wanna dance with somebody
#7499: May 26th 2013 at 4:13:28 AM

A few coldblooded animals uses urea, glucose, glycerol and even ethanol as cryoprotectant and Antifreeze. With the right temperature (around 0c) they could hibernation a few month with no real problem.

Some other coldblooded animals also hibernate but they need the temperature to be above freezing.

So it depends.

edited 26th May '13 4:15:18 AM by m8e

MarqFJA The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer from Deserts of the Middle East (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
The Cosmopolitan Fictioneer
#7500: May 26th 2013 at 5:46:49 AM

[up][up] There was a sitewide glitch around that time that prevented post-editing and page-editing.

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

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